Loading...Obviously, Jaeger LeCoultre is probably the most famous alarm wristwatch maker. However, they were not the first. As of today, March 17th, 2013, I learned about a correction to this statement: The first watchmaker to produce a mechanical alarm watch was Vulcain (Cricket). The first watchmaker to make a mechanical alarm wristwatch was not Vulcain, but Eterna.
Eterna made the first series alarmwatch in 1914. This watch still looks like a pocketwatch, and I am looking for pictures of it. Let me know if you can contribute. The second series is nearly the same with regards to the movement.
I appreciate that Andreas told me that a source to find all alarm calibers is located at armbandwecker.at.
For more information, view the video below showing the second series Eterna wristalarm. The alarm is good enough to throw you out of bed at 6am.
(video courtesy of Andreas at Youtube)
Interestingly, the alarm is set via the bezel, not a crown.
Browsing the web and different auction sites, I noticed that a ton of other companies have made alarm wristwatches which prompted me to start this project. I would like to list all names of watchmakers and names of watches that possess a mechanical alarm.
This will be a project in progress. I would like to hope that I can receive support and help from fellow readers of this blog. Photos and description would be really welcome. Watch this as it unfolds.
According to Prem, a mechanical wristalarm enthusiast, mostly all mechanical alarm watches have hammers! They vary in shape, size, and their acoustics! Great loud sounds can be attained by some of them, the loudest was the Cricket calibre 120 (in the Vulcain wristalarm) Grand prix winner in 1946- U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower was the first to wear them, and since those days, almost ALL U.S. presidents wore them.
According to Dale, another enthusiast, the Ulysse Nardin Sonata , and also the Jaeger LeCoultre Master Reveil and other later Memovox type JLC’s use a gong instead of the hammer beating on the caseback – hence the difference in sound.
Below, this is a Jaeger LeCoultre Memovox Speedbeat acquired NOS from the 70s.
If I can figure out a way how to create and post a sound file from the alarm, I will do so in the coming days.
More watches to follow.
To start the list of watchmakers and watches that are making or made mechanical alarm wristwatches, I am posting the names of watchmakers and watches below:
1. Jaeger LeCoultre – Memovox
2. Jaeger LeCoultre -Reveil
3. Girard Perregaux – Traveler II Alarm GMT Timezone Steel (and vintage 60s Date alarm)
(Photo court of Manuel)
4. DUBEY & SCHALDENBRAND – XL GMT SONNERIE ALARM
5. MARTIN BRAUN – LA SONNERIE II ALARM LIMITED
6.Revue Thommen Cricket – Alarm Watch
7. Angelus – Vintage Angelus Alarm wrist watch Cal. AS1475 (and Dataalarm)
8. FORTIS – BRAIN MATIC AUTOMATIC ALARM (and MARINE MASTER CHRONO ALARM)
9. Lanco-Fon – Single Button Alarm Watch
10. Tudor – Advisor (Old and new)
11. CORDURA [Sicura SA] – 60’s Swiss Vintage Alarm Watch (Thanks Andreas)
12. Vulcain – Cricket (Photo to follow tomorrow as I remember that I have one) (Thanks Roberto)
A Vintage Vulcain Cricket In Action from HODINKEE on Vimeo.
13. Breguet – MARINE ROYAL ALARM 5847 (and other models)
14. Timex – Expedition Leather Alarm Watch
15. Ulysse Nardin – Sonata 660-88 Alarm (and San Marco Automatic Alarm)
16. Blancpain – Leman Reveil Alarm
17. Jean Mairet & Gillman – Hora Mundi Alarm
18. BUCHERER – 1888 DAY,DATE & ALARM
18a. Bucherer Alarm Automatic Date – with Lemania 2980 (like the Memomatic from Omega)
(Pictures taken from Ebay Auction as of December 22nd, 2013, courtesy of Berliner Auktionen)
19. IWC – Ingenieur Chrono Alarm (and IWC Porsche Design World Time Alarm)
20. FRANCK MULLER – Casablanca Alarm Big Ben 5850
21. Panerai – Radiomir GMT Alarm PAM 355 (and other models such as Radiomir Ref. 098)
22. Graham – “Swordfish GMT Alarm”
23. FAVRE LEUBA – Memo raider alarm
and here is a picture of another Favre Leuba alarm wristwatch, courtesy of Harry:
24. Perrelet – Alarm Round A10112
25. BREITLING – AIRWOLF RAVEN GMT TIME ZONE ALARM
26. TAG HEUER – MONACO 69 DAY / DATE ALARM (and Aquaracer Alarm)
27. OMEGA – SPEEDMASTER CHRONO ALARM (and Memomatic Seamaster)
28. VILLEMONT – ASTON R GMT ALARM
29. Eterna – 1948 Eterna-Matic Reveil Date Alarm Automatic
30. RADO – SINTRA MIDI ALARM DAY DATE CHRONO
31. AUGUSTE REYMOND – Rumba Alarm
32. LE JOUR – SONO ALARM
33. Ventura – V-Tronic alarm chronograph
34. TISSOT SWISS NAVIGATOR SONOROUS Alarm from appx.1975 (linking to an auction which I am not affiliated with, I do not know the seller, I do not know if the watch exists or anything else, just for illustation purpose)
35. Junghans TOP TIMER Automatic Alarm Kal. AS 5008 Day Date
36. Oris wrist alarm
37. Van Cleef & Arpels ~Monsieur Arpels Alarm GMT
38. Waldan International “Alarm”
39. Concord Mariner REVEIL Auto Alarm/Moon
40. Nike Air Jordan XX3 23 Alarm Chrono Watch Premier Blue
41. AUGUSTE REYMOND Boogie Alarm
42. Chase Durer alarm chronograph
43. VINTAGE POLJOT ALARM
44. Traser Alarm
45. Enicar Star Alarm automatic
46. Rex Alarm AS movement
47. Vendome Alarm, french made
48. Bulova Alarm, german made (and Bulova Seaking Alarm)
49. Alpha Swiss Alarm
50. Citizen Alarm
51. Helbros Alarm swiss made (1962)
52. Benrus Alarm
53. Towncraft Alarm swiss
54. Revere watch co. Alarm
55. Ferrari Alarm
56. Milus Alarm
57. Memostar Alarm swiss made
58. CYMA time o vox Alarm
59. Titoni Ring Star Alarm
60. Lucerne de luxe Alarm
61. Seiko Bellmatic Alarm
(Photo courtesy of Jens)
62. Invicta Alarm automatic
63. Poljot Alarm
64. Delbana Alarm
65. Tissot Sonorous Alarm
66. Wakmann Dataalarm
67. Wittnauer Alarm swiss made
68. Chandler Alarm
69. Mercedes Benz Alarm swiss made vintage 1950s (not authentic according to all the experts I have talked to, wrong typology, Russian movement, no way was this made in the 1950s)
70. Tressa automatic alarm
71. Technos Alarmdate automatic
72. Lorus Mickey Mouse musical alarm watch
73. Fortis Brainmatic Alarm
74. Sekonda Alarm
75. Emperor mechanical alarm 1970s
76. not a wristwatch: Movado Ermetophon Alarm travel watch
77. Seth Thomas Alarm Watch (40s era)
78. LORENZ CHRONO ALARM CAL 3S60 ROLEX MODULE
79. SIGNAL KIROVSKIE first USSR mechanical alarm wristwatch
80. Kingston Swiss Alarm
81. Swatch Chronograph Alarm
82. Sheffield Manual Alarm
83. Fossil manual, and
84. Clinton Alarm
85. JAEGER LECOULTRE ALARM WINDING WORLD TIME 489/1
(Source) | ||||||||||||||
86. VINTAGE GIRARD PERREGAUX ALARM 18K SOLID GOLD
Even a yellow gold Girard Perregeaux was made. (Source of photo)
87. Vintage Tourneau Alarm Watch Rare
88. Pryngeps Green Dial Auto Alarm
89. Harwood and Schild Alarm with Moonphase and Date: 5008 AS movement.
90. Comor Armbanduhr Wecker Venus-Reveil Cal.12 1/2(this is a reissue using an old 50s caliber), limited to 449 pieces.
91. LUSINA Geneve 18 Jewels
92. Movements: A.Schild movement numbers A.S.5007 and A.S.5008 both are automatic, date and alarm calibres.
93. ANGELUS 15J ALARM Swiss Pocket Watch
94. IWC GST Alarm – cal. JLC 917
95. Junghans Minivox
96. Cuervo Y Sobrinos Diver Alarm
97. Russian soviet Kirovskie Alarm watch
98. Thomax Dual Main Alarm 1965
99. Titus Alarm watch
100. Nitella Alarm watch
101. Roamer Alarm
102. Elgin Alarm
103. Abercrombie & Fitch
104. Fulcano Swiss made Alarm wristwatch
105. 60’S SS ATLANTIC TRAVELMATE ALTISSIMO WORLDTIME GMT ALARM 24H DIAL
106. Certina Alarm (Ref. 681 3750 41)
(pictures courtesy of Steve)
107. Breitling alarm watch
108. Rado alarm watch
109. Nivrel Heritage Collection Wristalarm
110. Louis Rosseu
111. Harry Winston Z6 Alarm wristwatch, a masterpiece
(picture courtes of http://equationdutemps.blogspot.fr)
112. This is a nice Venus 230 Alarm, assembled by J.R. Gorgerat, who later changed the name to Kelek. The “student project” Cal. 12 Uhrmacherschule Solothurn includes a movement finished by them, marked JRGK. Kelek also somehow weathered the Quartz crisis quite well and developed in-house mechanical chronographs (many w/ moonphase complication) in the 1990s, quite successfully exporting them to Japan. JRGK is now Breitling Chronometrie and manufactures their in-house movements. A small world in watchmaking.
(Picture courtesy of Fred)
113. Auguste Reymond Boogie Alarm
114. Jaeger Lecoultre Memovox Ref. 3161 “Parking”
(Picture courtesy of Patrice)
to be continued…
A link to interesting information about alarm wristwatches. Click here.
* A lot of links point to temporary pages and may not be working 3 months from now.
Below you find an interesting link to a book about alarm wristwatches, I think it has to be one of the very few books on this topic. I acquired this book. It is still missing a lot of timepieces and I hope to grow this project further. This project relies on contributions from fellow collectors, please, if you have pictures, alarm wristwatches that I do not yet mention, contact me at my email.
There are so many companies that used the Anton Schild alarm movements in their timepieces. But many other unknown companies also created wristwatches with alarm function. One of the most underrated watch functions….
I have been asked to provide all the caliber numbers in the above watches. Unfortunately, this is not a Herculean Task, but at this point an impossible Task. Why? Because I do not own the watches and cannot open them and check the calibers out. As much as I wish I could provide this Information, it is impossible for me to do so. I am sure my readers will understand this? However, just because I do not know the calibers, it does not mean that one of you readers may know all the calibers or part of them. So please, share with me what you know. I am very grateful for your contribution.